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The incidence of the melanoma has increased significantly in the last 10 years: it is estimated that in 2020 it affected about 14,800 people (8,100 men and 6,700 women), with a growth of 20% compared to 2019 and 15% compared to 2011.
The increase it can be partly attributed to the increased attention to this pathology and the availability of better diagnostic tools, but in large part it is due to the use of UV tanning lamps, particularly in the early years of the millennium. (Source: AIOM, AIRTUM, AIOM Foundation and PASSI, Cancer numbers in Italy 2020).
The sun, or rather the ultraviolet rays UVA and UVB, have many positive effects on the body. Excessive exposure, however, represents the main risk factor for cutaneous melanoma, the most aggressive among skin cancers, which in Italy represents the third most frequent cancer under the age of 50.
AIRC’s commitment to research
If on the one hand the diagnoses have increased, on the other 5-year survival has grown to 87%, with an increase of about 15% in recent decades, thanks to earlier diagnoses and research advances, which have greatly improved the treatment of this condition, such as immunotherapy.
AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research is making an important contribution to these advances: in 2020 alone, it has allocated approximately 7.5 million euros to 32 projects, 2 special programs and 16 scholarships in this area. The commitment of the researchers is aimed in particular at:
- research tools to identify patients at risk and therapeutic strategies to prevent relapses
- study how to improve the efficacy of therapies for metastatic disease and how to overcome resistance
- combining immunotherapy with targeted therapies and other treatments (such as surgery and radiotherapy) in advanced forms
- analyze the genetic profile of the tumor in pediatric patients or any mutations present in people with familiarity, to identify elements that can predispose to the disease evaluate the role of the immune system in the course of the disease and study how to stimulate it to act against the tumor by modifying the styles of life.
Prevention
The AIRC ambassador also takes the field to raise public awareness of the risks and benefits of sunlight Giulia Arena. The popular face of the Paradise of the Ladies reminds us of some simple rules to expose ourselves to the sun without damaging our skin, especially in summer, when the risk increases due to the extension of the exposed surface, due to prolonged exposure times and more intense solar radiation.
AIRC’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels host a series of appointments with science communicators, doctors and researchers to tell about the progress of research, studies for the development of new drugs and provide useful information for correct exposure to the sun. In addition to a series of advice and information that can be found on the Foundation’s website.
Cutaneous melanoma
